Yanny or Laurel became May 2018’s internet-dividing audio illusion when ambiguous recording split listeners into two camps hearing completely different words, creating “The Dress 2.0” phenomenon and teaching everyone about frequency perception.
The Audio
May 15, 2018: High schooler posted audio clip to Instagram story asking classmates what word they heard.
The clip: Robotic voice saying either “Yanny” or “Laurel” depending on listener.
May 16: Cloe Feldman (YouTube personality) tweeted it: “What do you hear?! Yanny or Laurel” with audio clip.
The Explosion
48 hours: 25M+ poll responses, #1 trending topic globally.
The split: Roughly 50/50 divided between Yanny and Laurel, with people absolutely certain of their answer and baffled others heard differently.
The Science
Why people heard different words:
- Frequency range: Depending on what frequencies your ears/brain prioritized
- Speaker quality: Device played significant role
- Age: Younger people more likely hear Yanny (hear higher frequencies)
- Context: What you expected influenced perception
Both words were technically present at different frequencies.
The Comparison
“The Dress” (2015): Blue/black vs. white/gold visual illusion
Yanny/Laurel: Audio equivalent
Both divided internet, sparked perception debates, went instantly viral.
The Celebrity Weigh-In
Everyone participated:
- Ellen DeGeneres (show segment)
- Chrissy Teigen (Team Laurel)
- Stephen King (Team Yanny)
- US House of Representatives (official tweet)
- Literally every celebrity
The audio became inescapable.
The Original Source
Backstory: Audio came from Vocabulary.com pronunciation of “laurel” recorded 2007. A student found it while looking up word for literature class.
The quality degradation over years created ambiguity.
The Variants
People manipulated audio:
- Pitch shifts made one word dominant
- Frequency filtering isolated each
- Remixes with both words
- Explanatory videos
The science content was fascinating.
The Cultural Moment
Yanny/Laurel represented:
- How perception varies individually
- Science communication via meme
- Internet’s ability to unite around nonsense
- “The Dress” proved it wasn’t fluke
The phenomenon taught neuroscience through viral audio.
The Legacy
By 2023, Yanny/Laurel remained:
- Second-most famous perception illusion (after The Dress)
- Example of frequency perception
- Instant cultural reference
- Proof internet would debate anything
The audio clip that divided world taught everyone about how brains process sound. Also, it’s definitely Laurel.
Source: Twitter analytics, poll data, scientific explanations, origin investigation